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| View of Tangier from highest point in old medina. |
Ever since Tangier was on 2011 Lonely Planet's list of best places to visit, it's been a "must-go" during our round-the-world trip. So, when we finally got a glimpse from the ferry of the white-washed buildings stacked up into the hillside of the medina (old town) and the ancient kasbah (citadel) fortress wall on the North African coast, we knew we had arrived to exotic Tangier!
RAMADAN
Months ago when we were planning our destinations, we discovered that we might be in Morocco during Ramadan. We had no idea what to expect, but decided we should go anyway. Worst case scenario being that we would not be able to eat or drink all day and businesses would be closed, but would make up for it at night with the locals. Since we chose to stay in Spain a little longer, we only experienced the last 2 days of Ramadan, and the holiday that followed.
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| Moroccans buying produce in medina in prep for Ramadan feast. |
We were surprised that Tangier - with a heavy French and Spanish influence and a more liberal approach to the Islamic traditions - had quite a few European cafes open during the Ramadan daytime and people (mostly tourists/foreigners) consuming food and beverages. However, just because the Muslims were fasting during the day didn't mean that they were holed up at home. We walked through the souk (market) of the old medina around 4 pm and found ourselves shoulder to shoulder, trying not to suffocate from the heat and congestion, as we fought our way through the dense crowd of locals shopping in preparation for their all-night feast. It's exactly how we had imagined the winding, narrow streets of an old medina to be!
We were also very interested to learn that the last day of Ramadan is not exactly known until the officials declare it by visualizing the moon. When we arrived, the cloudy sky prevented the moon from being seen on Friday and Saturday night when Ramadan should have ended, but showed itself on a clear Sunday night, officially ending Ramadan in Tangier. We were very glad we came before Ramadan ended because the 2 days that followed were holidays where almost every business and service was closed; although at night, the streets and cafes came alive! We thought the main road, Muhammed VI, in front of our apartment was the Las Vegas Strip with bumper-to-bumper traffic and people gathered around the streets until the wee hours of the morning.
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| Mimoun trying to drive near medina at night to get us to a restaurant. People everywhere! |
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| View of main street, Muhammed VI, from apartment. Like the Las Vegas strip. |
OUR HOSTS
Our stay in Tangier was made so much easier and better by our hosts, Susan and Mimoun, who generously opened up their home to 2 strangers who only knew of us through a mutual friend. They are expats living in Tangier for a work assignment, and we quickly found lots in common as they have also taken career breaks to travel extensively around the world.
We were so grateful to have Susan pick us up at the ferry terminal with a cab, so we can avoid being accosted by the huge crowds of cab drivers, hotel people, and "tour guides" trying to make a buck, as soon as we got off the ferry. Their home in a high-rise overlooking the Mediterranean was a nice oasis from the constant chaos of the city center, but close enough that we could walk to the historic areas (or a very cheap cab ride for €1). We were able to see much more of the medina and kasbah, thanks to Susan acting as our tour guide! We would've never found Le Salon Bleu, the roof top cafe in the old medina with the best panoramic views of Tangier without her. Mimoun and Susan took a morning off to drive us towards the Atlantic Ocean side to show us Cap Spartel - where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic; Hercules' Grotto; and arranged for a camel ride along the beach. We had wonderful meals, met their friends, shared drinks, and had a great time in Tangier. Susan even offered to mail our postcards because we couldn't find any postage stamps anywhere (why do they sell postcards without selling postage? Huh?). There really is no way to repay our new friends for their generosity, but hope we can reciprocate their hospitality some day, wherever we may meet again! Thanks, Scott, for introducing us to your friends.
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| View from apartment: medina and port |
THE OLD MEDINA AND KASBAH
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| Medina and kasbah walls, Tangier. |
The old medina is the ancient city center and life of Tangier, made up of hundreds of shops and homes stacked together on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean. The souk or market is integrated into the medina and is still an actual thriving market for the locals who buy their groceries and goods; although there are also plenty of souvenir stores for the tourists as well. The novelty of the medina is the miles and miles of winding, narrow, endless paths in between the buildings where one can literally get turned around and lost within no time. Getting lost in the medina can be a traveler's favorite pastime, although we were gently advised on several occasions by the locals to head back towards the more touristed areas when we got too far deep into their residential streets. Getting lost may be fun, but also a bit frustrating when we did want to find our way back home. Susan gave us a great tip: to find our way out, just start heading along the paths that go downhill towards the beach! Sure enough, we eventually made it all the way down to Mohammed VI - the main road in front of the old port, and we were freed from the medina.
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| Kasbah fortress walls |
The kasbah is the old fortress and citadel that protected the medina and the former palace with its high stone walls. Up close, the remainder of the walls are massive, tall, thick, and still very impressive. The kasbah is at the highest point of the old city, and bleeds into the medina. There is a museum near the kasbah in a former palace that came highly recommended, but with Ramadan and the holiday that followed, we were unable to visit the museum. Oh well...the entire city is a living museum, so we don't feel like we missed out.
LE SALON BLEU: A WELL-KEPT SECRET
Le Salon Bleu is a lovely European cafe that Susan took us for some refreshments with the best panoramic view of Tangier. The rooftop seating area overlooks the entire medina, is right by the kasbah walls, and was a nice oasis from the chaos below. We had watermelon juice and a sampler of various Moroccan foods.
TANGIER - FIRST TO RECOGNIZE THE NEW COUNTRY OF UNITED STATES IN 1777
This factoid about Tangier may be particularly interesting for our American friends: Tangier was the first place to acknowledge the United States as a new country in 1777 to begin trading relations. Neat, huh? As a result, a building in the medina called the Tangier American Legation, was the first public property outside of the United States established in Tangier...kinda like an embassy way back in the day.
View entire photo album for Tangier, Morocco here.
